I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the analysis and blending of motor vehicle fuels, generally classified in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Class 250, Subclasses 243, 241, and 339.
II. Description of the Prior Art
The need for tailoring motor vehicle fuels, especially gasoline octane, to the needs of various consumer vehicles has long been apparent, and solutions have included providing a number of different gasoline pumps at a single retail outlet so that the consumer may select the pump which dispenses the fuel closest suited to his vehicle's requirements; and elaborate blending pumps which blend a very high octane component such as alkylate with a low octane gasoline according to an octane dialed into the dispensing pump. Recently, this situation has been complicated by mandated gasoline proposals before the Congress and various states, and by different tax treatments granted to ethanol, methanol, and other replenishable fuel components in different states. Also, legislation in specifying maximum Reid vapor pressure (RVP) in various locals has become popular and must be balanced against the need for some minimum RVP in order to ensure starting of the motor vehicle in cold weather and cold climates. Taken altogether, these motorist demands and government regulations can be satisfied only by blending gasoline from more than two components and by blending as close to the point of sale as possible.
Recent advances in octane determination include U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,279 to Hieftje et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,745 to S. M. Maggard; J. J. Kelley et al., 61 Analytical Chemistry 313-320, Feb. 15, 1989; and European Patent Office document 285,251 of October 1988. Reid vapor pressure can be analyzed intermittently or continuously by Reid Monitor No. 44770 by Precision Scientific Inc., Chicago.